What is an art agent?

They appear in various art salons to promote the frontier art that has not yet appeared; With the help of various media, they explore ancient works of art and give them brand-new value; They recommend artists and works for buyers and find suitable buyers for sellers; They are both elegant art connoisseurs and bourgeois investors. They are the new force in the field of art investment-art brokers.

Art brokers surfaced.

More than 20 years ago, the father of gallery owner Gu Xinxin sold a painting at the price of 1500 yuan, and watched the buyer sell nearly 50,000 yuan as soon as he changed hands. Gu Xinying saw an opportunity from this lesson: "The water in the art market is too deep, and people who set foot in it need help."

As a result, with the increasing frequency of art transactions, more and more people are "helping others". Dai Xiaojing, secretary-general and auctioneer of Shanghai Calligraphy Association, told reporters that people's art education is relatively weak because of the relatively narrow domestic investment channels and the long-term poverty of society. Most people buy works of art only for investment reasons, and there is less demand for collections and hobbies. This has caused a strange phenomenon: on the one hand, the art market is extremely hot, on the other hand, there are too many "artistic illiterates". "Most investors need professional guidance." Dai Xiaojing said that in the past few years, the number of art brokers is increasing at an alarming rate.

In recent years, art brokers have become more and more professional. Four or five years ago, in the art market with an annual turnover of 20 billion RMB, art brokers were mostly curators, teachers and students of art colleges, and even lovers who only studied art. They participated in various art auctions on behalf of investors with money but no artistic vision, and their remuneration was about 5% to 10% of the transaction price. Nowadays, there are more and more art agents appearing as individuals. Some of them used to be employees of an art organization, and some of them gradually changed from art lovers to art experts out of personal interest. Some famous galleries, cultural companies, art auction companies, etc. Also more or less acts as an art broker, bridging the gap between buyers and sellers.

What exactly does an art agent do?

What exactly does an art agent do? Dai Xiaojing believes that in theory, they mainly serve investors and look for works with appreciation potential according to their own tastes. For example, Liu Xiaodong's masterpieces such as Burning Mouse, Three Gorges and Eighteen Arhats were all bought by Wu Jin, a well-known "art investment consultant" in China. Because of the correct decision, the investors of these three works have gained an appreciation of nearly 10 million yuan. However, Gu Xinxin told reporters that most domestic art brokers only match buyers and sellers, and because they are generally from art institutions or colleges, most of them are closely related to art authors, mainly "standing" on the author's side to recommend works to investors.

"Foreign art brokers can provide more services for both parties: choose an auction house or trade privately? How to avoid taxes reasonably? How to advertise? How to set the psychological price? ..... "A manager of the painting and calligraphy department of Cloudy Xuan told reporters that foreign brokers can provide tailor-made services for customers, and if necessary, they will even personally send the roster of potential buyers to customers.

Dai Xiaojing, Gu Xinxin and the manager all think that the status of foreign art brokers should be our development direction, and art brokers will become more and more like financial advisers in the art field. In the future, before the art transaction, when you rack your brains for such questions as "should you buy or sell this work" or "how much should you bid", the most important thing you should think of is: I need an art agent.

Who can be an art agent?

Gu Xinying believes that honesty is the most important quality to be an art agent. "It is not enough to know what your customer wants, but also tell him what he can buy-even though he may not realize it at all. Just because you can't afford Zhang Daqian or Chen Yifei doesn't mean that there are no other works to buy. "

To be an art agent, the knowledge and ability you need are really amazing: first of all, you need rich knowledge background and experience. Knowledge includes art history, brush and ink techniques of Chinese painting (oil painting), introduction of major painters, and understanding of the characteristics of works of different styles and schools. Experience refers to the analysis and appreciation experience of a large number of modern and ancient paintings, as well as the identification experience of a large number of fake paintings and works of art. The acquisition of this knowledge and experience may take many years to accumulate. Unmatched network resources are necessary to become an art broker, including familiarity with the author of the art, familiarity with and mastery of potential buyers in the market, and understanding of various trading intermediaries. Coupled with a keen sense of smell in the contemporary art market, the market trend is changing rapidly. Mastering and foreseeing this trend can provide better services for art investors.

In April this year, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security incorporated the art broker training program into the formal training system. Yuan, director of the cultural and economic vocational skills training program, told the reporter: "Art brokers are the protagonists in the art trading market, and they are also our 6+ 1 special talent training plan (that is, 6" teachers "+1 person", that is, professional art appraisers, art appraisers, art auctioneers, art packagers, jade appraisers, and art brokers. Art brokers are likely to become one of the new occupations announced by the Ministry of Labor. "